Fire destroys Happydale Road home; I-70 motorist called 911

Published: February 25, 2004 7:00 PM

Fire destroyed a Happydale Road home late Tuesday morning.

According to Asst. Fire Chief Jim Jackson of the Cambridge Fire Department, an emergency 911 cellular telephone call was placed shortly before 10 a.m. by a motorist along Interstate 70 alerting authorities to smoke at the home on the edge of an embankment overlooking the roadway in the southeastern corner of Cambridge Township.

Caller Dale Gorecki, westbound at the time, reportedly pulled his automobile across the median and scaled the embankment. Unsure if any occupants were in the burning home, the Brooklyn (OH) City Police Department detective said he first pounded on the doors and windows of the home before entering the living room in search of any victims trapped within.

I was just praying there wasnt, he said.

Forced back by smoke, Gorecki placed a second emergency call. Unsure of the address, he gave the dispatcher the license plate registration of an automobile parked at the scene, and the owner was traced.

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Meanwhile, Jackson was searching the area, and was able to trace the smoke from the blaze to the home at 10799 Happydale Road, owned by Dave Uplinger, the report said.

With more city firefighters en route, he entered the home to search for victims. Finding none, he exited and joined fellow firefighters now at the scene in battling the fire with tanker water and two 1 3/4-inch lines.

In all, five Cambridge firefighters were at the scene with an engine, tanker and support truck. Five Byesville volunteer firefighters under the command of Eng. Jerry Tolliver brought their tanker and a support truck to the scene, and Dep. Dick McClay of the Guernsey County Sheriffs office provided traffic control at the scene.

According to Jackson, Jason Bayly, resident at the home and step-son of Uplinger, arrived at the scene. Two other residents Uplingers wife and Baylys mother Connie Uplinger and a relative, Andrea Bayly were not home at the time of the blaze, and a check of the nearby garage revealed his parents pickup truck was not there.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, according to Cambridge Eng./Investigator Dave Duhamel, though it is believed to have started in the master bedroom of the double-wide mobile home.

No injuries were reported, Jackson said. However, a family pet running loose at the scene ran over an embankment to Interstate 70 below and was struck and killed by a passing automobile, he said. Another dog chained in the yard was not injured, he added.

Firefighters estimated damages at $20,000 for the contents and $60,000 for the structure.